3 ms·

We've gone from 20,000 homeless in the 1990s down to about 4,000 in 2023, so it's very impressive. A large part of the reason is that drug use does not disquali

We've gone from 20,000 homeless in the 1990s down to about 4,000 in 2023, so it's very impressive. A large part of the reason is that drug use does not disqualify you from recieving benefits.

qup 3y ago
Are they living permanently in the social housing that's supplied? Or are there only 4,000 in the housing?
- hiAndrewQuinn 3y ago
  That's a good question. The number is a little more suspect if someone automatically exits the homeless category as soon as they rent a tiny room with their Kela benefits. The Housing and Development Centre reports "At the end of 2022, there were 3,686 homeless people living alone in Finland, which is 262 less than in 2021. The number of the long-term homeless was 1,133, which marks a decrease of 185 people." "Of all the homeless, 70 per cent were temporarily staying with friends or relatives. Dormitories, hostels and different institutions housed 17 per cent of the homeless people. Finally, 13 per cent of the homeless people were living outside, in stairways or in overnight shelters." So I guess the bulk of that number are short-term homeless people - maybe they got evicted, or lost all their savings or something. https://www.ara.fi/en-US/Materials/Homelessness_reports/Homelessness_in_Finland_2022(65349 https://www.ara.fi/en-US/Materials/Homelessness_reports/Home...
  - euroderf 3y ago
    For a sense of scale, the US has sixty times the population of Finland. > 3,686 homeless people living alone in Finland ... corresponds to 220k in the US. > The number of the long-term homeless was 1,133 ... corresponds to 68k in the US.
  - milesvp 3y ago
    Short term homeless is an interesting demographic to target. I’ve seen some threads talking about being homeless, and a common thread (very anecdotal) that I see repeated is how often a small amount of money was enough to lead to an eviction. I’m curious if there might be value in targeting homeless spending in such a way to try to limit short term homelessness by preventing evictions in the first place.
noduerme 3y ago
It's important to note that fentanyl and methamphetamine are not nearly as widespread in the EU... and no amount of housing can solve a drug problem that causes people to publicly lose their minds. Having grown up during the 80s in America and watched homelessness more or less recede all the way through the 2000s until the opioid explosion, I wonder how the Finnish system will handle it if or when such drugs become widespread among working age people.
- hiAndrewQuinn 3y ago
  It's a good, and concerning, question. Alcohol is our most damaging drug on a collective level here for now, and I'm mostly glad we're starting to get that under control. Alcohol taxes ftw, all my homies love regressive taxation lol But no, seriously, as an expat who grew up next to some projects I'm personally aware that meth is just in a class of its own when it comes to encouraging antisocial behavior on an individual level. It's possible to look at America as a kind of "first contact" site for all kinds of social upheavals, positive and negative alike. It's possible the Finnish youth are simply more aware of the disastrous consequences of amphetamine abuse, and so will avoid it more. Truly hard to say.
- euroderf 3y ago
  Opioids are very marginal in Finland. There's no S*klers pushing it into the public health system.
dawidw 3y ago
> drug use does not disqualify you from recieving benefits. and maybe that made drug overdose which resulted in decreasing of homeless people?
- benrutter 3y ago
  Doesn't seem to be any evidence at all of an increase I'm drug overdose related deaths for Finland over the last 10 years: https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/european-drug-report/2023/drug-induced-deaths_en https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/european-drug-repo...

We've gone from 20,000 homeless in the 1990s down to about 4,000 in 2023, so it's very impressive. A large part of the reason is that drug use does not disqualify you from recieving benefits.

qup 3y ago

Are they living permanently in the social housing that's supplied? Or are there only 4,000 in the housing?

hiAndrewQuinn 3y ago
That's a good question. The number is a little more suspect if someone automatically exits the homeless category as soon as they rent a tiny room with their Kela benefits. The Housing and Development Centre reports "At the end of 2022, there were 3,686 homeless people living alone in Finland, which is 262 less than in 2021. The number of the long-term homeless was 1,133, which marks a decrease of 185 people." "Of all the homeless, 70 per cent were temporarily staying with friends or relatives. Dormitories, hostels and different institutions housed 17 per cent of the homeless people. Finally, 13 per cent of the homeless people were living outside, in stairways or in overnight shelters." So I guess the bulk of that number are short-term homeless people - maybe they got evicted, or lost all their savings or something. https://www.ara.fi/en-US/Materials/Homelessness_reports/Homelessness_in_Finland_2022(65349 https://www.ara.fi/en-US/Materials/Homelessness_reports/Home...
- euroderf 3y ago
  For a sense of scale, the US has sixty times the population of Finland. > 3,686 homeless people living alone in Finland ... corresponds to 220k in the US. > The number of the long-term homeless was 1,133 ... corresponds to 68k in the US.
- milesvp 3y ago
  Short term homeless is an interesting demographic to target. I’ve seen some threads talking about being homeless, and a common thread (very anecdotal) that I see repeated is how often a small amount of money was enough to lead to an eviction. I’m curious if there might be value in targeting homeless spending in such a way to try to limit short term homelessness by preventing evictions in the first place.

noduerme 3y ago

It's important to note that fentanyl and methamphetamine are not nearly as widespread in the EU... and no amount of housing can solve a drug problem that causes people to publicly lose their minds. Having grown up during the 80s in America and watched homelessness more or less recede all the way through the 2000s until the opioid explosion, I wonder how the Finnish system will handle it if or when such drugs become widespread among working age people.

hiAndrewQuinn 3y ago
It's a good, and concerning, question. Alcohol is our most damaging drug on a collective level here for now, and I'm mostly glad we're starting to get that under control. Alcohol taxes ftw, all my homies love regressive taxation lol But no, seriously, as an expat who grew up next to some projects I'm personally aware that meth is just in a class of its own when it comes to encouraging antisocial behavior on an individual level. It's possible to look at America as a kind of "first contact" site for all kinds of social upheavals, positive and negative alike. It's possible the Finnish youth are simply more aware of the disastrous consequences of amphetamine abuse, and so will avoid it more. Truly hard to say.
euroderf 3y ago
Opioids are very marginal in Finland. There's no S*klers pushing it into the public health system.

dawidw 3y ago

> drug use does not disqualify you from recieving benefits. and maybe that made drug overdose which resulted in decreasing of homeless people?

benrutter 3y ago
Doesn't seem to be any evidence at all of an increase I'm drug overdose related deaths for Finland over the last 10 years: https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/european-drug-report/2023/drug-induced-deaths_en https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/european-drug-repo...